The Brazilian Fairy Tale – The Union Leader Becomes President

Abstract: Brazilian politics has for a long time been considered an elitist system, dealing with corruption and social inequalities. In 2002 something unimagined happened when the former industrial worker Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was elected President of the Republic of Brazil. This case study examines Lula’s authority role as President by testing the theories Cinderella Complex and Max Weber’s theory of Pure Leadership. It also tries to explain what motivates Lula’s actions and what affect this has on Brazilian politics. The case study reveals that Lula is not driven by any ideology, but is motivated by own personal interests of eliminating hunger and poverty. To realise these wishes he creates alliances in order to get enough support for these policies. Even though his government is designed as a bureaucratic administration, Lula has not proven to use rational ideas to establish new reforms. Instead he is dependent on raising enough support and trust, through his charismatic image. This is visible in his election campaigns. This leadership style has implemented some valuable programmes like the Fome Zero and Bolsa Familia, but his endless travels and commitments abroad joint with his approach to the corruption scandal in 2005 has created a new image of Lula as a negligent person. This case study is using qualitative methods to explain the leader and President of Brazil.